Some Republican Governors Rap Santorum for 'Snob' Comment

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s comments that it’s snobbery to say all should go to college is drawing fire from some GOP governors. Govs. Robert McDonnell, Jan Brewer, Phil Bryant, and Bobby Jindal have all weighed in against him, The Washington Post reported.

The former Pennsylvania senator labeled President Barack Obama a “snob” for saying he “wants everybody in America to go to college.” However, a Post fact check found that Obama never made such a comment — and instead said that Americans should try to get at least a year of “higher education or career training” that could take the form of community college, a four-year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

Santorum himself has made nearly identical comments about technical schools, vocational training and apprenticeships. “I wish he’d said it differently,” Virginia Gov. McDonnell told the Post. “When you look at what’s going on in other countries, China, India, the premium they put on higher education — we’ve got to do better if we still want to be the global leader we are.”

McDonnell and Arizona’s Brewer are Romney supporters, so they can be expected to critical of Santorum. However, Louisiana’s Jindal, and Mississippi’s Bryant have not endorsed any of the remaining GOP contenders, the Post reported.

“We talked to the president today about some of the trades, even back to the concept we had in high school of shop or the vocational training,” Bryant told the Post after the nation’s governors met with Obama on Monday. “He said today he would help from the bully pulpit, encouraging more folks who want to go into that type of training.”